BAKU: The first Afghan official to attend UN climate talks since the Taliban came to power told AFP Monday that his country hopes to benefit from a global finance deal under negotiation at COP29 in Baku.
Heading a three-person team, former Taliban negotiator Matiul Haq Khalis stood out in the bustling halls of the conference in Azerbaijan’s capital where delegates from nearly 200 countries began two weeks of talks.
The Taliban-led government, which is not internationally recognized, tried and failed to attend the previous COP (Conference of the Parties) meetings held in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Khalis, director general of Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), said his team was invited to attend the talks by Azerbaijan’s ecology minister and COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev.
The Afghan delegation is in Baku as “guests” of the hosts, not as a party directly involved in the negotiations.
“I really appreciate” Babayev’s invitation and the Azerbaijani government’s facilitation of visas, said Khalis, son of prominent jihadist figure Mawlawi Yunus Khalis.
His delegation, he told AFP through an interpreter, aims to “deliver the message ... to the world community that climate change is a global issue and it does not know transboundary issues.”
With Afghanistan among the countries most vulnerable to global warming, the Taliban have argued that their political isolation should not bar them from international climate talks.
Khalis said COP29 participants should take into consideration vulnerable countries such as Afghanistan, which are most affected from the effects of climate change, “in their decisions.”
The Taliban treatment of women, however, could be controversial at climate conferences where gender rights always play a part of the discussions.
“Afghan people, especially the most vulnerable, urgently need support from climate finance to recover and adapt,” climate activist Harjeet Singh told AFP.
“However, as the Taliban government seeks to engage in the international process, it is essential that they respect and promote universal fundamental rights — particularly women’s rights within the country,” he said.
Women and children in particular “are bearing the brunt” of climate change, Sanjay Vashist, director of the Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) told AFP.
While the Taliban are barred from the negotiations, “the world cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan who are suffering from the triple whammy of the climate crises, gross human rights violations and extreme poverty,” Vashist said.
Asked about the gender issue, Khalis told AFP that the implementation of climate change projects “boost” women as well.
Azerbaijan’s COP29 presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the invitation.
Azerbaijan reopened its embassy in Kabul in February this year, though it has not officially recognized the Taliban government.
Developed countries have committed to providing $100 billion per year in climate finance through 2025 to help developing nations prepare for worsening climate impacts and wean their economies off fossil fuels.
Developing nations are calling for trillions of dollars, but Babayev said Monday a more “realistic goal” was somewhere in the hundreds of billions.
“Our people in Afghanistan also should access” such funds “as a right (over) climate change,” Khalis said, describing it has his country’s “main expectation” at COP29.
Among the poorest countries in the world after decades of war, Afghanistan is particularly exposed to the effects of climate change, which scientists say is spurring extreme weather.
Drought, floods, land degradation and declining agricultural productivity are key threats, the UN development agency’s representative in Afghanistan, Stephen Rodriques, said in 2023.
Flash floods in May killed hundreds and swamped swaths of agricultural land in Afghanistan, where 80 percent of people depend on farming to survive.
Khalis said Afghanistan was seeking to attend next year’s climate summit in Brazil as an official party to the talks.
“We are very interested to be as a party in the COP30 in Brazil,” he said.
“This is the right of the people, the climate justice for the people that’s actually most vulnerable communities to the impact of climate change.”
Taliban eye aid at their first UN climate talks since 2021 takeover
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Taliban eye aid at their first UN climate talks since 2021 takeover
- The Afghan delegation is in Baku as “guests” of the hosts, not as a party directly involved in the negotiations
Ukraine needs better air defenses, Zelensky says after Russian drone attack
- Over the past week Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types
“An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week,” Zelensky said on Telegram messenger.
Over the past week Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types, Zelensky said.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us,” he said.
The Ukrainian military said earlier on Sunday that air defense units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight attack.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack, Kyiv’s military administration posted on Telegram.
Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defense units in operation.
“The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions toward Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”
There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack.
Uruguay votes for next president in closely fought runoff race
- Final opinion polls suggest the Nov. 24 runoff promises to be razor tight
- Fewer than 25,000 votes potentially separating the frontrunners
MONTEVIDEO: Voters in South America’s laid-back Uruguay, known for its beaches, legalized marijuana and stability, will head to the polls on Sunday in a second-round presidential race between moderates that closes out a bumper year of elections.
The vote in the small nation of 3.4 million people sees opposition center-left candidate Yamandu Orsi take on continuity conservative runner, Alvaro Delgado, who has the backing of a third-placed ally.
Final opinion polls suggest the Nov. 24 runoff promises to be razor tight, with fewer than 25,000 votes potentially separating the frontrunners.
Unlike sharp right-left divides in recent elections in Argentina, Brazil or Mexico, Uruguay’s political arena is relatively tension-free, with significant overlap between the conservative and liberal coalitions vying for office, taking some of the sting out of Sunday’s final result.
Ballot stations open at 8 a.m. (1100 GMT) and close at 7:30 p.m. local time, with first results expected two hours later.
Orsi, who has pledged a “modern left” policy approach, won 43.9 percent of the October vote for the Broad Front and will face Delgado, who secured 26.8 percent but also has the backing of the conservative Colorado Party that together with his National Party made up almost 42 percent of votes. The two parties did the same in 2019, winning the election.
Orsi has sought to reassure Uruguayans that he does not plan a sharp policy shift in the traditionally moderate and relatively wealthy nation.
Delgado meanwhile has asked voters to “re-elect a good government,” seeking to capitalize on the popularity of President Lacalle Pou, who constitutionally cannot run for immediate re-election.
Neither coalition has an absolute majority in the lower house following October’s elections. But Orsi’s Broad Front won 16 of 30 Senate seats. He argues his senate majority places him in a better position to lead the next government.
Both contenders on Sunday are hoping to attract the roughly 8 percent of first-round voters who went for smaller, unaligned parties, as well as those who failed to turn out in October.
But neither has made new pledges in the final weeks to appeal to them, and pollsters say a televised debate on Nov. 17 appears to have had little effect.
“I don’t know who I’m voting for,” said Rosario Gusque, 42, from the region of Canelones where Orsi was previously mayor. “Even less so after seeing the debate.”
One question as the biggest year for elections in history comes to an end is whether Uruguay will buck a global trend of incumbent parties losing vote share compared with the previous election. Voters hurt by inflation and high living costs have punished parties in power, including in Britain, Japan and the United States.
A robust Uruguayan economy though could help Delgado on Sunday: “There are few indications that voters are clamoring for significant political change,” said Uruguayan analyst Nicolas Saldias of the Economist Intelligence Unit.
82 killed in three days of Pakistan sectarian violence: official
Peshawar: Three days of bitter sectarian gunfights in northwestern Pakistan have killed at least 82 people and wounded 156 more, a local official said Sunday.
“Among the deceased, 16 were Sunni, while 66 belonged to the Shia community,” said a local administration official in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country but Kurram district — near the border with Afghanistan — has a large Shiite population and the communities have clashed for decades.
The latest bout of violence began on Thursday when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort were ambushed, killing at least 43 and sparking two days of gunbattles.
“Our priority today is to broker a ceasefire between both sides. Once that is achieved, we can begin addressing the underlying issues,” provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said Sunday.
Pakistan partially stops mobile and Internet services ahead of pro-Imran Khan protest
- Sunday’s protest is to demand Khan’s release
- The government is imposing social media platform bans and targeting VPN services, according to monitoring service Netblocks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Sunday suspended mobile and Internet services “in areas with security concerns” as supporters of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan geared up for a protest in the capital.
The government and Interior Ministry posted the announcement on social media platform X, which is banned in Pakistan. They did not specify the areas, nor did they say how long the suspension would be in place.
“Internet and mobile services will continue to operate as usual in the rest of the country,” the posts said. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Khan has been in prison for more than a year and has over 150 criminal cases against him. But he remains popular and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says the cases are politically motivated.
His supporters rely heavily on social media to demand his release and use messaging platforms like WhatsApp to share information, including details of events.
Pakistan has already sealed off the capital Islamabad with shipping containers and shut down major roads and highways connecting the city with PTI strongholds in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The government is imposing social media platform bans and targeting VPN services, according to monitoring service Netblocks. On Sunday, Internet-access advocacy group, Netblocks said live metrics showed WhatsApp backends are restricted in Pakistan, affecting media sharing on the app.
Last month, authorities suspended the cellphone service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to thwart a pro-Khan rally. The shutdown disrupted communications and affected everyday services such as banking, ride-hailing and food delivery.
Fire rips through slum area in Philippine capital
- Manila Fire District said around 1,000 houses were destroyed in the blaze
- The structures housed around 2,000 families, according to the fire department
MANILA: Raging orange flames and thick black smoke billowed into the sky Sunday as fire ripped through hundreds of houses in a closely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila.
Manila Fire District said around 1,000 houses were burned in the blaze that is thought to have started on the second floor of one of the homes.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Drone footage shared online by the city’s disaster agency showed houses in Isla Puting Bato village of Manila razed to the ground.
The structures housed around 2,000 families, according to the fire department.
Village resident Leonila Abiertas, 65, lost almost all her possessions, but managed to save her late husband’s ashes.
“I only got the urn with the ashes of my husband,” a crying Abiertas said.
“I really don’t know how I can start my life again after this fire.”
Fire and disaster services deployed 36 trucks and four fire boats while the country’s airforce sent in two helicopters to help extinguish the fire.
“That area is fire-prone since most of the houses there are made of light materials,” firefighter Geanelli Nunez said.
